Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back
by Zephara
Summary: Vanessa is a young girl living in Amestris with a dark past. With the only person in her life that knows her secret gone, and no family to turn back to, her world collides with the Elric brothers. EDXOC story.
1. Chapter 1

"How's that?" A girl, about the age of 15 stands atop a ladder, trying her best to hold a large wooden sign steady. "Is that better?" She calls down to her mother, who is giving her a pitiful look in return. Her mother stands tall from the alleyway, with her hands on her hips. "It's fine how it is, just come down before you hurt yourself!" She laughs to herself, shaking her head. Her daughter was always trying so hard to make their lives better.

The girl sighed in frustration, standing on her tip toes to get the sign just right before she continued hammering. She heard her mother call out again. "I'm gonna finish closing up shop now. Come find me when you finally finish Vanessa! Then we can go get some dinner or something!" With that her mother waved her off and headed back inside the shop, her long shirt swaying against the pavement as she did so. Vanessa mumbled something in response but it was unintelligible, as she had placed extra nails between her teeth for convenience. After she had finally gotten the last nail in, she grabbed the edge of the sign with one hand and jerked it.

To her satisfaction it didn't budge. She let out a relieved sigh and glanced over to the horizon. East city was still fairly bustling with activity, and by this time the sun was setting, leaving the sky a orange hue. She noticed the some of the street lights flicker on, one by one. She glanced back over to the sign and frowned at it. "Just a few more nails, just to be safe." She blurted out loud. Vanessa could never let good enough be. She was always trying to fix things that weren't really broken, which was sometimes more of a burden to her mother, who hated to constantly see her daughter trying to repent.

Vanessa kept herself busy hammering for awhile, until a noise caught her attention. Her gaze was suddenly directed someplace towards the other side of her mother's shop, which sat on the corner of the block. A loud boom shook her place on the ladder. Vanessa's hammer fell from her hands as she grabbed onto the now-sturdy sign to keep herself from falling over. "Was that..?" She thought aloud. "An _explosion?!"_

Then she saw it. Smoke came bellowing out from some buildings in the distance behind the shop. She squinted her eyes, trying to focus on the source of the destruction, but to no avail. The smoke was thick, and her heart suddenly started racing in her chest, as she heard the screams of panic echoing through the streets. She stood high on the ladder still trying to focus her eyes when another loud boom came, much closer this time.

This time the earth shook a lot harder, causing Vanessa to lose her balance as the ladder tumbled out from beneith her. Her stomach sank immediately, as she tried to grab onto the sign in front of her. Her hand slipped just out of reach of its wooden surface, and she let out an involuntary shriek. She fell backwards, hitting the concrete hard several feet below from where she was originally standing. The impact left the wind knocked out of her, and her vision blurry.

She didn't have much time to compose herself before she heard footsteps thumping past her, and more shouting. She had barely pulled herself up to her elbows when she saw a man run past her, dark skinned with red eyes. Her confused gaze locked onto his. A glare. _Those eyes. _She thought innocently. _An Ishvalen..? But-_

"LOOK OUT!" Her attention was pulled away from the intimidating man to what the new voice was warning her about. Her eyes slowly moved in front of her and upwards. Her breath escaped her lungs as she watched, wide-eyed, and dumbfounded as her mother's shop was now beginning to collapse. Not only that, but it was falling towards her. Vanessa felt her fingernails scrape against the pavement as she clenched her hands, her heart racing. She froze, and before everything would go dark, a red blur pushed itself on top of her. She squeezed her eyes shut and winced. She heard a clap, followed by a familiar ringing sound before the deafening roar of the falling structure consumed her and the figure in red.


	2. Chapter 2

Vanessa let out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding. She opened her eyes wide only to be met with pitch blackness. Her ears were ringing from the impact of the building falling. _Am I dead? _She thought. Vanessa heard the rubble settling around her, but didn't feel like she was being crushed. She did however feel the weight of what felt like another person on top of her. When her ears finally stopped ringing, she was greeted with the sound of a boy's heavy breathing, telling her that she was not alone.

She was so preoccupied with trying to piece together what had just happened and where she was, she failed to hear the boy's voice calling out to her, frantic. "Hey, are you okay?" He repeated himself, probably trying to figure out if she was even conscious. She let out a groan before she mumbled a response.

"What happened..?" She asked mindlessly. She moved her hands to the space around them, trying to get a feel of her surroundings. She suddenly remembered her toolbelt on her right side, and pulled her hand to it, carefully feeling for what she was looking for. When she felt the cool metal rod reach her shaking hand, she wrapped her fingers around it and clicked the rubber button with her finger.

A thin layer of dust, and the sudden brightness of the flashlight made her squint her eyes. Once her vision came back into focus, she was met with the golden eyes of the boy's concerned gaze meeting hers. His arms placed at each side of her head, supporting himself, his coat draping over her. She then realized that the flash of red she saw earlier was his coat. Her eyes made their way back to his face. She could faintly see that his hair was pulled back in a braid, and matched the golden brilliance that his eyes had.

"Where are we?" She finally blurted, confused. The boy gave her a pained look. "We're underneath the building." He stated. His eyes locked with hers and he lowered his brow. "But you never answered my question. Are you okay?" Vanessa hadn't really considered her own well being, as she was trying to pull her mind together. "I-I think so.." which she actually believed until she felt something wet and sticky underneath her left leg. She instinctively pulled her hand down and reached under her left thigh, fingers tracing for the source of, whatever it was. She pulled her hand back up to her face. She felt her eyes widen in horror. The light revealed that there was so much.. _blood _covering her hand.

"What..?!" She whispered, panicked. She suddenly felt her chest tighten, her breathing starting to increase dramatically. "Hey." His voice bellowed through the small space between them. "Calm down, you're gonna be fine!" But his loudness only made her panic more. She shook her head back and forth, not hearing him. Realising this, the boy moved a gloved hand down to her face gently holding it steady, still supporting himself above her with his left hand planted on the ground by her head.

"C'mon. Stay with me." He spoke softer this time. Vanessa opened her eyes and watched him. Even though his grip was gentle, she could feel a cool hardness from underneath his glove. She took a deep breath and nodded. Still propping himself up with his left hand, he reached down with his right. Vanessa's eyes never left his, as she watched him. He felt around below him where he believed to be the source of the injury. She blushed slightly, feeling his hand trace to her inner thigh. He noticed this as well and looked down, trying to focus. His metal hand made a _klink _sound as it connected with a metal rebar that was jutting out of her leg, on the inside of her thigh.

The contact made her gasp. Swallowing hard, he slowly gripped his fingers around the metal bar. He realized removing the bar could cause her to bleed out if not treated immediately. But also didn't want it to get jammed in any worse than what it was, and it would be hard to move her with it still in her leg. He couldn't transmute it either, as he needed both hands to do so, which could result in the protective dome he'd created to collapse if he stopped holding it up right with his body. He made up his mind and looked back to the girl.

"You're not gonna like this," He began. Her eyes pleaded at him. "But I gotta pull it out." Her eyes widened. "N-no.." She stuttered. She sucked in a deep breath and begged, clearer this time. "No, Don't!"

Ignoring her cries, he gripped the rod tightly and pulled it upwards. Her piercing shriek caused him to cringe, filling the small space between them. Her upper body began to thrash in protest. She dug her nails into the crumbled building under her, seething through her teeth. The boy held himself steady above her until he felt her leg finally release the rod. As soon as it was out, her body collapsed under him.

Dropping the blood soaked metal beside them, he propped himself up on his right hand, pulling his left hand down to her face. He wiped the dirt and sweat from her forehead, in attempt to calm her. He could feel her body shivering underneath him, her breathing now slow. "It's okay now, it's out." He assured her. "Stay with me." She locked eyes with him once again, and under his gloved hand, gave him a reluctant nod. His attention is suddenly pulled away by the distant voices outside of the makeshift dome. He had faintly heard them earlier, but considering how much closer they were now, they must have dug some of the rubble out from the top of them.

The boy sees this as an opportunity to finally deconstruct the barrier, assuming it's safe. "Get ready." He tells her. "I'm going to start deconstructing the dome." He explains softly, referring to the barrier between them and the building. "I don't know how far we are underneath the building, so there's probably going to be rubble falling. Are you ready?" Vanessa suddenly remembers her mother, causing her heart to sink into her stomach. Her breathing picks up again but stays steady. She gives him a determined nod.

*So this is my first shot at a fanfic. I've had this story stuck in my head for awhile and finally decided to type and upload it. Will upload more soon. Feel free to review, constructive criticism is appreciated! I find a lot of fics don't use enough description sometimes and it makes it hard for me to picture the story in my head. So I tried to make it as immersive as possible, so let me know if you enjoyed the intro/first chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

The boy pushes himself onto his knees briefly and claps his hands, letting them fall back down again on each side of her head. She sees blue light flicker around them, and hears the ringing of the alchemic reaction as the concrete shield protecting them slowly breaks down, starting from the middle. The golden haze of the sunset pierces through, and she squints her eyes, adjusting to the bright outside world again.

Vanessa sits up on her elbows as the boy slowly pulls himself off of her. She begins to look around frantically for any sign of her mother, but all she sees is a broken building surrounding her. Somewhere off the in distance she hears a young boy's voice call out. "Brother!" Her eyes follow the voice and from a distance she can see the blurry silloette of...

_ A suit of armor? _She thinks to herself, confused as the figure comes into focus. He's a lot taller than she imagined considering the voice sounded like it was coming from a 10 year old boy. He climbs over the rubble and makes his way to where they are located in the center of the destruction. By now the boy in the red coat is standing, hands on his hips. They both look down at the girl in pity. There is now a visible pool of blood under her, and it has soaked into her clothes. "I've gotta find her." She finally grunts, as she flips herself over on her stomach. After a sad attempt to stand up, she picks a direction to where she believes her mother to be, and tries to crawl away.

The boy in the red coat bends down to grab her shoulder with one hand and places the other in the center of her back to keep her from moving away any further. "H-hey, take it easy!" He tells her, but she ignores him and tries to continue crawling on her elbows, tears now streaming down her face. He gives her shoulder a firm squeeze. "Don't worry. We'll find her. We have to stop the bleeding first." She stops and looks down. She had completely forgotten about that. She glanced behind her, seeing a small trail of blood. "Here, c'mon."

Vanessa followed his soft voice and looked up at his face. She cautiously watched him as he reached his hand out to her, smiling. His clothes were now dusty and his hair slightly disheveled. She swallowed hard and reached for his hand, wrapping her fingers around his. She began to pull her right leg up to stand, just to loose her balance. The boy in the armor sees this, and jumps to her side to keep her steady. When she finally gets to her feet, she doesn't realize how shaky her legs are and reluctantly has to put most her weight on the blonde boy.

He doesn't seem to mind though, as he helps her climb over the debris. She looks around in disbelief as she limps at his side. "It's all gone.." She whined helplessly. The entire building she just completed putting back together was completely destroyed. Her breathing hitched, as she felt a shock of pain come from her inner thigh, burning. She looked down again to see a significant amount of blood pouring down her leg. Her eyes widened, and her breathing increased more.

The two boys helped Vanessa make her way over to the wall of the building next door. Once she had her back against it, she slid down until she was sitting. "We gotta keep pressure on it." The blonde boy explained, taking her hand in his and pressing it on the open wound. Vanessa seethed hard through her teeth from the pain, but continued to follow his instructions, holding her hand steady after he had removed his.

"Fullmetal." A cool-sounding deep voice echoes through the rubble and debris. A voice that demanded respect. And unbeknownst to the two boys, it was all too familiar to her as well. The dark haired man made his way over to them. A few soldiers that had arrived with him now scattered around the area. One hand in his pocket, he addresses the boy. "What happened here Fullmetal? Where's Scar?" He demands. Vanessa watched him wide eyed, wondering if he even recognized her in this state.

The blonde boy, the one referred to as "Fullmetal" crosses his arms and bows his head slightly, closing his eyes. Seemingly annoyed by the Coronel's presence or question, Vanessa couldn't figure out which. "Ah, Coronel Mustang. About time you make an appearance." He taunts sarcastically. "He got away. Sorry, I was a little busy making sure that building didn't crush this girl." He glances to her briefly before standing up straight again. Mustang brought his attention down to Vanessa. He glances at the rubble where her mother's shop once stood before speaking to her. "Where's your mother Vanessa?"

He stood over her, watching as she glared at the ground, focusing on a little plant that had sprouted through a crack in the side walk. She could hear the boys shift in surprise, probably because Mustang seemed to know her personally. She kept her hand pressed against her leg and huffed a response. "I don't know." Was all she could say. "Was she in the building?" He questioned plainly. Vanessa seethed through her teeth, his words stinging her. "Yes, she was." She admitted softly, tears welling up blurring her vision. The plant she focused on was now a green blob in her eyes. She blinked hard causing the tears to spill over her face. She felt helpless and alone.

Mustang kneeled down to Vanessa, causing her to lift her head and meet his gaze. He gave her that same serious expression that he always had, he never really showed much emotion. He attempted to move her hand from her thigh but she held a firm grip against it. "Let me see it." He commanded. She didn't want to look at it herself, she knew it was bad. Turning her head, she slowly pulled her hand away, exposing the wound, which was still gushing blood. He observed it silently for a moment, moving her leg back and forth gently as he did so. He sighed and stood up. "Fullmetal, come with me, I need to speak with you." He turned around and began to make his way down the side walk, Fullmetal following him.

Vanessa watched them walk several feet away before sighing to herself and sliding down on her back in a laying position, one arm propped behind her head and the other hand still pressing against her leg. She was beginning to feel tired, probably from the loss of blood. She didn't care. The boy in the suit of armor shuffled awkwardly, seemingly not knowing what to do with himself.

"Alphonse." He blurted. She snapped her eyes to him and furrowed her brow in confusion. He jumped slightly and corrected himself. "Uh I mean, my name! Is Alphonse. Sorry." He gave her a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his helmet. Vanessa smirked at him slightly, eyes tired. "Vanessa Roth." She stated softly. "It's nice to meet you." She sighed. "Thanks for helping me, you and your brother. Um.. " Her heavy eyes trailed over to the boy who seemed to be having an intense conversation with the Coronel. He was shaking his head back and forth and pointing to her. Mustang kept his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Whatever they were talking about, Mustang seemed to not be taking no as an answer.

"Edward." She turned her attention back to Alphonse's young voice. "We're the Elric brothers!" He chimed in proudly. Vanessa repeated the name in her head. _Elric brothers huh... Where have I heard that before? _She thought to herself. Alphonse then asked her the question that had been bothering him. "So, how do you know Coronel Mustang?"

Vanessa gave him a sheepish sigh before answering. "My dad and him were war buddies before he died." She answered, an emotionless tone to her voice. "Oh. I'm sorry.." He replied quietly. Alphonse went to speak again before she interrupted him. "It's fine. Don't be sorry." She muttered. She didn't want any sympathy from him, she didn't deserve it. They shared a moment of awkward silence before Alphonse spoke again. "Did he.. die in the war?" He asked cautiously. She shifted and stared up to the sky, her eyebrows lowered at his question. "No." She stated plainly, ending the conversation.

Soon after that, Mustang and Edward headed back in their direction. She closed her eyes and listened to the shuffling of their shoes against the pavement approaching her. She heard the sound of boots dragging along the sidewalk and stopping right at her side. She knew those shoes didn't belong to Mustang, he would never drag his feet so carelessly. After a moment of silence she opened her eyes again. Edward was standing above her, his arms crossed, with a frustrated look on his face, his golden eyes piercing hers. She propped one of her eyebrows up, in sleepish confusion. _Why is he standing so close to me...? _She wondered.

Before she had a chance to sit upright again, Edward dropped down suddenly and grabbed her left hand, the one that was holding the wound on her leg, and pulled it over her head, pinning both hands above her. He swung his left leg over her and positioned himself to sit on her pelvis, forcing her to stay down. He leaned forward, eyes still locked onto hers. She wriggled under his hold. "Hey! W-what are you-" She protested. "What are you doing?!"

"Alphonse hold her legs!" Edward called back to his brother, still holding her in place. Alphonse squeaked in response but proceeded to follow his instructions. He stepped over and grasped onto her ankles, strong grip holding them down. She attempted to kick her legs and throw her arms, but to no avail. She leaned her head to the side and peered over Edward's shoulder at Mustang who was standing over them, expression unreadable.

"Mustang what the hell?! Tell them to get off of me!" She shouted angrily. Her heart sank heavily as she watched Mustang pull a single white glove out of his pocket, slowly pulling it over his right hand, exposing a red transmutation circle imprinted in the fabric. Her eyes grew dramatically in pure terror as realization sunk in. Her breathing quickened into hyperventilation, instincts kicking in. She flailed as much as she possibly could under Edwards grip, causing his hands to tighten around her wrists painfully.

"You'll bleed out before the paramedics arrive." Mustang stated. Edward suddenly leaned forward and blocked her view of Mustang. Tears were uncontrollably pouring down the sides of her face as she gave him a pleading whimper, silently begging him to let her go. Edward returned the pained expression to her and spoke. "I'm sorry, we have to do this." He grumbled, shutting his eyes tightly for a moment before snapping them open again, a serious expression now on his face. "If we don't, you'll bleed out and die!" He yelled at her, an attempt to get her to stop struggling. She stared at him in awe for a brief moment, before her eyebrows lowered at him in pure rage. She grinded her teeth together. She felt betrayed, but in the back of her mind she knew he was right.

Then came that sickening sound. A single _snap. _So simple but yet so destructive. She never thought in her life that Mustang would have to use his weapon against her. She felt the fire blast into her wound, searing the nerve endings and blood vessels closed instantly. She screamed in white-hot agony, her body shaking uncontrollably against Ed, who was now struggling to keep her still. She thrashed around for awhile until she eventually was overcome by the intense pain. Her vision started to get dark, her body going numb. The last thing she saw was the panicked look of Edward's golden eyes.

As Vanessa came back into consciousness, she could hear the commotion of people working around her. She opened her eyes slowly, the sunset greeting her. It was still daylight out so she hadn't been out long, she figured. She sat up, trying to shake off the fogginess in her head. She soon realized that she was alone now, Mustang nor the Elrics were in sight. She watched the soldiers running back and forth working busily to clear the rubble. She observed as some bystanders had converged together, and gossiped among themselves. Her attention was caught when she heard a familiar young voice call from the other side of a broken wall. "Hey! I found her!"

Her heart skipped a beat, fluttering in her chest. She instinctively pulled herself to her feet, not failing to notice the makeshift bandage on her leg. Her legs were heavy, but she ignored it. Holding onto the wall, she guided herself down, following the sidewalk, until she had to cross over to the the broken wall of her mother's destroyed shop, where she heard Alphonse calling from. She let her hand fall to her side and dragged her injured leg behind her as she neared the scene. Once she had finally reached the broken wall, she pulled herself along it until she was at the end. Without thinking, she turned around the corner and stopped in her tracks.

She saw Ed an Al crouched over some rubble, studying it closely. Not being able to see what they we're looking at, she silently moved forward a bit. That's when she saw it. The vague violet color of her mothers skirt, sticking out between the concrete slabs and wooden boards. Her eyes trailed upwards to an arm- a hand, reaching out of the rubble lifelessly. Not noticing Vanessa's presence, Alphonse moved forward to grab a large, heavy looking boulder, proceeding to lift it up and toss it to the side. She froze in place.

A face. Unrecognizable, had it not been for her hair color giving away her identity. It was so smashed, it didn't even look human anymore. Her jaw, broken, hung unatturally low from her face. Her nose was crushed into her skull. Dusty blood trails stained underneath her eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Vanessa felt her breath leave her body. Everyone was quiet as they stared at what used to be, her mother.

A hitched breath caught the attention of both of the Elric brother's who spun around simultaneously. Ed stared wide eyed at Vanessa, who didn't remove her gaze from her mother's body. "N-no." He stuttered. "No, don't look! Don't look at her Vanessa!"

Hearing her name, she snapped her focus at Ed, then back at Alphonse. She slowly turned her head around, noticing the crowd around her watching her, all with sympathetic looks on their faces. All staring at her. She looked back to the boys who held their place, unsure of what to do, still watching her. She blinked wildly, her eyes darting back and forth. She stumbled in place, falling to her knees. Her gaze fell in front of her to her lap, her arms dangling lifelessly in front of her.

She heard footsteps run towards her. As they stopped at her side, she saw Ed's red coat sway into her peripheral vision. He knelt down on one knee, and firmly grasped her shoulders. He pulled her body towards him so she was facing him. She held a blank expression. He searched her face some more. The light in her eyes was gone. She wasn't crying. She just looked at the ground.

"C'mon," His voice was rough as he spoke to her. His head was lowered, his bangs casting a shadow over his eyes. He pulled her up by her shoulders until she was standing. They were about the same age, so he was surprised to see that he was actually slightly taller than her. He pushed his ego out of his mind, and guided her back to the sidewalk, away from the building.

As they were walking, he kept her close to him. The warmness of his body next to her was the only comforting thing that she had experienced that whole day. He gently pulled her along, his arm draped around her shoulders. She could hear the metal footsteps of Alphonse's armor following close behind them. The wail of sirens poured in from the distance, closing in on their location. "Bout' time." Ed scoffed. "Must've been dealing with the rest of Scar's handiwork." He concluded quietly. He stopped walking when they reached the curb connecting the road and the sidewalk. "All this destruction, and for what?" He spat. His voice lowered. "...Is it really worth it?" He sighed heavily. The bright red and blue lights of the emergency vehicles filled the now darkened streets, the blaring sirens closing in on them. Ed turned Vanessa towards him again, trying to see her eyes, that lifeless gaze all too familiar to him. He cringed slightly at the sight of the broken girl in front of him. Suddenly he pulled her in roughly.

Her eyes shot wide in surprise. He just held her there, not letting go. It was starting to get cold out now, and he was just so... _warm_. She slowly brought her hands up and wrapped them around his neck. She nuzzled her face into his coat and closed her eyes. She was comfortable there, and had they not been standing, she felt like she could of fell asleep in his arms. She could feel his pain sweep through her and she had the feeling he had been through a similar loss in his life. They held each other until the medical staff pulled Vanessa away, Edward reluctantly letting go.


	4. Chapter 4

Vanessa sat on the end of her hospital bed. She had been taken to the infirmary at the Eastern Command Center to have her injuries inspected. She kept her leg propped up on a stool so the doctor could examine it. Besides some minor scrapes and a mild concussion, her leg was her worst injury. She sighed, as she had only been there for about an hour, and was starting to feel homesick. The doctor, a middle aged woman with blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun, had visible bags underneath her eyes, so Vanessa assumed her had been busy all day treating soldiers as well; a result from Scar's assault. She kept his face close in her thoughts, never once forgetting those dark, vengeful eyes. She was distracted suddenly as she felt the Doctor beginning to pull away the hastily wrapped cloth around her leg. She shut her eyes and cringed, her hands grasping the bed sheets. She could feel the cloth tearing away from the wound as the blood had dried to it earlier. She released a breath and relaxed her grasp on the bed sheets finally when the doctor peeled the last of the cloth from her leg.

"Not a bad job sealing the wound, considering." The doctor muttered as she observed it closer, implying that Mustang's handiwork wasn't half bad. He had no medical training as far as Vanessa knew. She figured he could of scalded her entire leg, had he not been, well, Mustang. She knew he loathed sloppy work, so for that she was more of less thankful it worked out in her favor. For a moment, she was glad he was there, and stubborn. Anyone else would have caved at her demands to not touch her leg, she would of insisted she was fine until she bled to death. For a moment she was grateful to be alive. As for why, she wasn't sure yet.

After the doctor had applied antiseptic medicine to her leg and re-wrapped it in sterile bandaging, she stood up and walked to the door. Her hand grasped the doorknob, and before she turned it, she spoke solemnly. "I'm sorry for your loss." Her words escaped her, she didn't know if I was the right thing to say or the right time to say it, but she felt like she should say something nonetheless. A flat "Yeah" in agreement was the only response Vanessa could muster. She dropped her head low, grinding her teeth in anger, as the doctor left the room.

Vanessa sat there, still, not moving, but listening to the commotion in the hallway, as the doctor had left the door open. She could hear wheels of carts squeaking past, shuffling feet, hushed voices in and out of earshot as they passed by her door. But one voice in particular caught her attention. She rose her eyes to the sound, keeping her head still. She tried to focus her attention to what Mustang was discussing in the hallway with the doctor, but couldn't hear anything over all the other distractions drowning their voices out. She could see that Mustang had this arms crossed, with that classic disappointed look on his face. Then another character stepped up, and she felt her eyes widen. The blonde haired boy from earlier, Edward, stood next to Mustang and the doctor now. He wasn't wearing his long, red, oversized coat anymore. Now he was wearing a black jacket with white trim, his hands stuffed in his pants pockets. His eyebrows lowered as he watched the Coronel speak with the doctor. He didn't seem very interested in what they were saying, but instead trailed his attention to the inside of her room, and stopped when his eyes met with hers.

He gave a warm, sympathetic smile in silent pity, as Vanessa darted her eyes away. Her hands began to lightly squeeze the bed sheets again, bunching them up in her hands. He definitely stood out from other people, but she still felt slightly embarrassed for a boy her age to see her in such distress. Part of her wished they would have met on different terms, when she didn't feel so spiteful against the world and the so called 'God' that made her, and everyone's else's lives miserable; even if most people didn't admit it. On most days, when she wasn't catering to her mother's needs, she was a pretty carefree and relaxed person. With hobbies. And ideas. Passions and dreams. She felt these things sink away from her suddenly, and realized nothing would ever be the same. What hurt the most was the fact that this hasn't been the only time she has experienced this feeling, and it still draped over her consciousness like a thick blanket, every day.

She moved her eyes back to him. Edward spoke something to the Coronel, waved his hand in his direction and stepped past him into the room. As he made his way inside, he turned and closed the door behind him, Vanessa's stomach sinking slightly as he did so. She lifted her head and attempted to give him a polite expression, making it seem like she appreciated his presence, even though that wasn't exactly the case. It's not like she didn't like him, but she wasn't going to be very good company right now.

"How's your leg?" His voice broke the silence in the room. He stood there with his hands still in his pockets, watching her, a soft smile on his face. She grimaced slightly and dropped her head to her legs again. "It's sore." She paused for a moment and looked back to him. "How are you? I mean, are _you _okay?" She figured asking him was the nice thing to do even though he looked completely fine. He chuckled lightly at her, and raised his hand to his mouth in amusement. He humoured her with a response. "Nothing to worry about. Just a couple bruises. Nothin' I can't handle!" She lowered her eyes. His optimism was... exhausting. His expression dropped after when he noticed her reaction. "You shouldn't worry about me though." She could feel him watching her closely, and could hear the smile in his voice. She raised her head again. "You've been through a lot today." He concluded, his voice lower than before. _He's trying to sympathize with me. _Her own voice echoed in her mind, making her frown deeper. _Don't cry idiot. _She told herself harshly. She shook her head slightly, blocking out her emotions before meeting eyes with him again. "I'll be okay. I think I just need some time." She tried to tell him without her voice breaking, but it slipped through before she finished speaking. _Ugh, get ahold of yourself! _She internally scolded herself.

Edward pretended not to notice and walked towards her where she was sitting on the end of the bed. The light in the room was dim, the only light being emitted from a lamp next to the bed. He pulled the doctor's chair up with him and positioned it correctly before sitting down across from her. He rested his elbows on his knees comfortably, his hands carelessly dropping between his legs. "Sorry," He began, his gaze drifting to the window next to them. "I'm not trying to intrude or anything. I just figured you shouldn't be alone." He shifted his head to look at her. "I can leave if you want." He stated quietly.

His words broke her. She felt the tears swell up behind her eyes. "I _am_ alone." She blurted. Her voice rose, almost sounding amused at his words. She shut her eyes in frustration, this time squeezing the sheets harder. "I _am_ alone." She repeated, seething the words through her teeth. "I have nobody now." Her voice shook harder and harder as she spoke. "And the worst part is, I could of done something. But I didn't. I just sat there, doing nothing. I heard it coming and I could of stopped it but I just-" She stopped suddenly, eyes wide, tears now pouring out of them. Her eyebrows lowered in self hatred. She stared into Edward's soul. His eyes watched her every move, watching her break completely before him. His mouth was slightly agape in surprise, he didn't really expect her to lash out like this. She sucked in another quick breath to speak again but before she could, Edward moved forward and grabbed her arms.

"Shut up!" He exclaimed. He returned the same angry stare she had been giving him. "It's not your fault! Just-" He paused glancing down at the floor, possibly trying to calm himself before speaking again. "Don't blame yourself." He pleaded at her. They stared at each other for a moment before Vanessa dropped her head and spoke again. "I'm sorry. You're right. I just... don't know what to do now." Still holding onto her arms he lowered his head to meet eyes with her. "Keep going." He stated, as if it was obvious. "Keep moving forward. That's all you can do." She held onto his soft words like they were the only thing holding her together. She sighed and forced a smile. "I'll try." She said finally. Edward held onto her arms a moment before letting go and leaning back. "Good. I'm glad." He told her, not completely believing her but still holding her to her word.

They sat in silence for what felt like forever. Vanessa was still beating herself up in her head for exploding like that on him. He didn't deserve it. _What's wrong with you? _She questioned herself internally. She needed a distraction from her thoughts as she felt her heart beat begin to quicken again. She picked her gaze up from the floor and moved it to Edward, who was now staring longingly out the window. It was dark out now, aside from the distant city lights and the ivory glow of the moon. Vanessa thought about how he was probably scolding himself for even coming into the room with her, and how he had wished he was anywhere but there. She could still feel his grip on her arms like he was still holding her. Mindlessly she moved her left hand up to the spot where his automail had rested before and spoke, breaking the silence.

"Your arm." Her voice caught his attention as he looked back to her. "It's automail isn't it?" She watched him as he gave her a sad smile. "Yeah, it is. You noticed, huh?" She chuckled lightly at him. Seeing this made his expression lighten up too. "How could I not?" She replied. "It made a noise when you pulled that bar out of my leg! You had to of heard it too." He leaned back in the chair and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess the secret's out!" He laughed. East city was a decent sized city after all, and with all the war and strife in the country, it wasn't exactly uncommon to have automail. She shied away for a moment before looking back to him. "Can I... see it?" she asked him, carefully.

He nodded once before unzipping his jacket. Before he pulled it off, he paused. "You sure you wanna see it? It's pretty knarly." She frowned at him and crossed her arms, a little insulted. She was pretty desensitized by these kinds of things by now, given her father was a military general, and didn't appreciate being treated like a child. "Just take it off." She demanded.

Edward's cheeks tinged a light pink hue as he stared at her in surprise. He blinked at her a couple times before standing up and continuing to remove his jacket. He pulled it down from his shoulders, one arm at a time. She didn't miss the fact that his muscles were pretty well toned, making her cheeks a bit pink as well. He didn't notice her blush as he pulled his jacket off and set it on the back of the chair. Edward put his hands on his hips and waited, now wearing a sleeveless shirt that matched his black jacket. The moonlight shining through the window reflected off of his automail arm and gleamed at her, inviting her to investigate.

Vanessa stood up from the bed and slowly approached him. Edward noticed how she had a slight limp now, but she seemed to be able to walk on her own. She stepped forward and looked at him. He nodded at her in approval before she moved to his side. She rested her left hand carefully on his shoulder, pressing her right hand onto his cool, metal, bicep. She could feel the gears shifting beneath the steel plate as he clenched his fingers open and closed. She had never gotten to see automail up close like this before, and she was impressed by its complex technology. She moved his arm back and forth, it clicking quietly at her in response. Vanessa moved her fingers down his to his forearm slowly, feeling the small indentions and grooves from his battles, under her finger tips. When her hand reached his, he held his palm open for her to inspect the fingers. She touched the inside of it softly for a while taking note of little details, and how different it was from a normal hand. Immersed in what she was doing, she mindlessly wrapped her fingers in his palm, holding his hand. She held it there for a moment and closed her eyes in deep thought, she had a million questions going through her mind, but just couldn't get them come out. There was something nice about the silence she didn't want to break. A distraction from her own problems.

She finally opened her eyes again to see that she had been intimately holding his hand this _whole time_. She felt the heat rush to her face as her gaze snapped up at him, matching his wide eyes, and his cheeks burning a similar shade of crimson. She dropped his hand immediately like it was on fire, and brought her own hands to her mouth in surprise. "Sorry!" She began to wave her hands at him frantically, before pulling one to scratch the back of her head. "I wasn't trying to-I mean, I didn't mean to! Uh..." She laughed awkwardly before sputtering out more nonsense. "You probably have a girlfriend or something! I shouldn't be so careless, I wasn't trying to like, you know, hold your hand or anything!" Edward froze at the word 'girlfriend'. He brought his hands up in defence. "No it's fine! I don't have a girlfriend!" He swallowed hard, his face turning a deeper shade of red.

Suddenly the door opened, and both Edward and Vanessa jumped and looked over as if a ghost had just walked in. Mustang stepped inside and looked at both of them, confused at their reaction. He crossed his arms and smirked before speaking. "What's going on in _here_?" he asked playfully. Mustang was a pretty observant person, and didn't fail to notice the red tint to their faces. "Nothing! Just talking! Just a regular conversation!" Edward laughed nervously and realized he over corrected himself, making him look more guilty than he actually was. Vanessa sighed heavily and moved back to her bed to sit down. _Of course Mustang walks in at the worst time! _She thought to herself.

Mustang decided it was best to ignore their weird behavior, and stepped up closer to where Vanessa sat on the bed. "I spoke with the doctor, she says your leg should heal fine. But she wants you to stay here for the night so she can watch for any signs of infection." He explained. Vanessa sighed again, she figured they would make her stay anyway. He opened his mouth to speak again then stopped, like he was trying to figure out how to put his thoughts into words. He grumbled something and lowered his head in frustration. Ed and Vanessa watched him in confusion. When he finally did speak, Vanessa suddenly wished he hadn't.

"I've been informed that the bank will be foreclosing your house." His icy words stunned her. A lump caught in her throat. Vanessa was at a loss for words. She felt her lip quiver. "..What?!" She finally choked out. "But they can't do that, I still live there!" She was suddenly livid. _After everything that's happened today, after everything I've lost, now they want to take my home away!?_ She grinded her teeth violently. "This can't be happening." she seethed through her teeth. She squeezed her hands in a tight ball feeling her nails dig into the cloth of her black fingerless gloves. "Where will I go...?" she pleaded audibly. Her body began to shake as she tried to hold her tears back. _Could this day get any worse? _Her brain mocked her._ You're just getting no less than what you deserve._

"That brings me to my second point." She snapped her head up, silently begging for some good news. Mustang brought his hand up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I made a promise to your father before he died." He started. She could feel her face twist in confusion as she watched him, waiting. "I promised him that in the event of both him and your mother passing, that I..." His words trailed off. His face had regret all over it, the color paled slightly. He let out another exasperated sign before he finished speaking. "I told him that I would take over as your legal guardian."

Vanessa was definitely taken aback by this, her eyes wide in confusion, still trying to take it all in. Meanwhile, a snort of suppressed laughter filled the silence in the room. Ed had one hand gripping the back of the chair, and the other one covering his mouth, trying to hold himself back from laughing out loud. Mustang glowered at him. "What's so funny Fullmetal?" This only made Ed laugh louder, until he was bent over, hysterical. He slapped his leg several times before he finally attempted to catch his breath. "Spit it out!" Mustang snapped at him, not amused, causing Vanessa to jump where she sat. This didn't seem to phase Edward as he brought his hand up to wipe his teary eyes. "You're-" he breathed out in between laughs. He stood straight and pointed at Mustang. "You're gonna be her Daddy!" He exclaimed, causing Mustang's face to drop in embarrassment.

Vanessa felt her own face melt away. _Why would he say it like that?!_ She thought. "Don't be an idiot!" Mustangs words echoed, she had never heard him loose his cool like that before. It didn't stop Edward from laughing though. "It's not like that!" He snapped at him. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes before his glare suddenly turned into a smirk. He opened one eye at Ed. "Don't you think you're being a _little _childish Fullmetal?" He stated cooley. Vanessa turned to see Ed's expression fall. Suddenly he exploded into a rage. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING A LITTLE CHILD HUH?!" He huffed violently while Mustang continued to mock him. "Why don't you wait outside so the adults can talk." He suggested. Edward scowled at him for a moment before crossing his arms and turning his head. "I'm not going anywhere. Because I'm not a child!" He kept his eyebrows lowered and his eyes closed defiantly as he spoke, causing Vanessa to laugh behind her hand. Edward's eyes snapped open and he shifted his glare to her. He sneered at her briefly before his frown softened. He smiled, watching her laugh like that. After the day she had, he figured she needed it.

"As I was saying." Mustang interrupted her, cutting her amusement short. Ed shot a glare back at him in return, but continued to listen anyway. "I've arranged for you to stay in one of the staff rooms here at East Command temporarily until we can find something more permanent." Hearing this, she lowered her head. Everything in her life was changing so fast, she didn't know how to comprehend it all. She sighed and closed her eyes. She wanted so bad to wake up from this nightmare. She longed to be hammering a sign into place, or reorganizing the shelves in her mother's shop, or helping her lift heavy boxes, or-

Her thoughts were cut short when she felt hands rest on her shoulders. Her eyes opened, only to greeted by Ed's golden orbs focused on to hers. She hadn't even noticed him walk up to her. "Hey, remember what I said earlier, okay?" He gave her a reassuring smile. "You're not alone. Remember that." She held a sad expression, and glanced at Mustang, who had now turned away from them, heading towards the door. She turned her attention back to Ed. "Then who do I have?" She asked pitifully. "Well, you have me now don't you!" He happily informed her, still grinning. She snickered at his response, they had only met a few hours ago and now he was basically committing to helping her? A little puzzled, she nodded and forced a smile back to him anyway. "Yeah, I guess I do." She replied, her smile beginning to feel more genuine as she gazed into his eyes.

Suddenly his face turned into a mischievous grin as he stood up over her. He brought his auto mail hand down on her head and ruffled her hair, causing her to give him a grumpy pout. "Good." He stated, satisfied, as he began to make his way to the door that Mustang left open. Before he walked out, he turned back to her. "I gotta go find Al, but you better believe we're coming back to check on you!" Guilt suddenly washed over her. _Alphonse! _She had completely forgotten about him._ How could I forget? He's a kid in a giant suit of armor!_ Ed watched her, waiting for some kind of response. "Where is he right now?" She questioned curiously. He leaned against the doorframe now, right arm crossed, gripping his elbow while his left hand rested on his chin in thought. "Well, he said he was going to stay and help clean up Scar's mess. But that was awhile ago..." He stood up straight, shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I'm sure I'll find him. He is kinda' hard to miss after all!" He turned to leave, but not before looking back at her one last time. "Just you wait, I'll be back in no time!" He called to her cheerfully. He turned forward again and raised his arm up, waving her off, before leaving. The last part of him she saw was his blonde braid whipping the air, as he turned the corner, disappearing behind the doorway.


	5. Chapter 5

The doctor came in to check on Vanessa about an hour after Mustang and Edward left. She sat on her bed, back against the wall, shuffling through pages of a book a nurse had brought for her to pass the time. It was definitely below her reading level, a kids chapter book. The nurse probably figured something light and childish would be most appropriate for her situation. What the nurse hadn't realized that it was a story about a lost baby bunny looking for his mother; and it's innocent writing style made it even more depressing. When the doctor called to her, she sighed roughly before snapping it shut.

"Don't like the book?" She inquired. She motioned Vanessa to sit on the edge of the bed so the doctor could redress her leg. She looked down to notice the blood had already seeped through the bandaging from earlier. Following the doctors silent command, she scooted down to the edge of her bed. She finally gave her a vague response. "It's not that. I'm sure it's not a bad story. I just don't feel like reading right now." The doctor glanced her eyes over to the cover picture, seeing a small bunny hugging it's mother's leg lovingly. She scoffed at the nurse's poor choice of literature. "I'm sure her intentions were pure." She added sarcastically. Vanessa perked up at her tone, she reminded her a lot of herself, which scared her a little bit.

There was silence between them as she dressed her wound, but a light tension in the air as well. That feeling you get when someone is about to ask you a personal question. Vanessa's instincts were correct when the doctor finally spoke. "So your an orphan now, correct?" The question made her heart sink, she'd never thought she would hear someone call her that. She hated that word. It sounded so belittling, and pitiful. She humoured her nonetheless. "Yeah. I guess so." She replied dryly. The doctor continued to work on her leg in deep thought for a moment, before speaking again. "What happened to your father?"

She knew it was coming, and she had been asked several times, but it always made her stomach turn. Every time. She swallowed hard, her mouth was so dry she thought she might choke on her own tongue. "He died." She stated plainly, trying to end the conversation, but this only seemed to annoy the doctor. "Well yeah. I know that much. But how?" She pried.

Vanessa was taken aback about how pushy she was, but it's not like she could just get up and walk away. She decided to tell her the story that she had rehearsed many times, to the very last detail. "He was electrocuted." She stated. The doctor glanced up at her from her leg, in sickening interest, waiting for her to continue. Vanessa raised an eyebrow at her._ Usually people don't react like that._ She wanted to say out loud. She blinked at her, then continued her story. "Sometimes my father would go out drinking with his military buddies after work. Which was fine, he wasn't a drunk or anything. He just had a lot on his plate." The doctor finished wrapping her leg finally, and sat up in her chair to hear the rest.

"It was raining when my he came home; we didn't live far from the bar so he always walked." She paused to take a deep breath, then continued. "His clothes were soaked when he came in the house, and it was pretty late, so all the lights were off. There was this one light switch in the kitchen that was really old though. He said he was going to fix it eventually, but he never did."

Her body trembled slightly as she lied through her teeth. This was the same story that Mustang and all the other military personnel had been told, and if she missed any details, it would raise questions. The doctor watched her carefully as she told her story. "My dad couldn't see because it was dark, and I don't think he was thinking straight because-" She cut off when her voice broke. It reminded her why she hated when people asked about her dad. "When he touched the exposed wires from the switch, he..." She trailed off hoping the doctor would loose interest there. But she just continued to stare at her. _Can't she take a hint?!_ She screamed internally. She gave a shaky sigh, and spoke again.

"Me and my mom woke up when the lights started flickering, and we heard him screaming. But when we came down the stairs, he was already on the floor." That part was at least true. She remembered seeing him lay there, lifeless, as her mother desperately tried to resuscitate him. She could still hear her mother screaming, crying for help. All she could do was stand there, staring wide eyed and helpless.

She felt the tears swell up, blurring her vision. She blinked them away but they just kept coming. The doctor must of been satisfied by now, as she stood up from her chair. "That's really rough. I'm sorry you had to go through that. You've been through a lot it seems." She told her thoughtfully. The doctor continued to watch her as Vanessa wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't of asked. I didn't know it was that bad." She admitted regrettably. "I'm sure Colonel Mustang will take good care of you. It gets better, just give it some time."

She really wasn't all that convincing, Vanessa could tell that she lacked empathy. Which was ironic considering she was a doctor, after all. She stood over Vanessa quietly as if she was trying to think of something comforting to say, but when she couldn't think of anything else, she walked to the door and left the room, leaving her alone, with the deafening silence.

Vanessa waited patiently, for Edward's return. Not necessarily because she wanted to see him again; she didn't want to deceive him like that. No, she had a plan, and if anything, he was in the way. She laid in her hospital bed facing the wall, butterflies rising in her stomach everytime she heard movement next to her door. The room was dark now, the only source of light being from the rays of light cast by the moon. She figured It was probably around 11pm by now, as she dared not roll over to check the time. _When is he going to show up? It's been hours already, did he decide not to come after all? Or did he forget?_ The thoughts silently rolled through her mind. _Probably figured I wasn't worth the time._ She gave a quiet sigh to herself, pushing those pointless thoughts from her brain.

She went over her plan in her head. She had already procured extra bed sheets from the carts the nurses had left in the hallway earlier that evening, and collected those that had been left in the shelves and dressers in her room. She kept them, tied together tightly, in the drawer next to her bed. She knew she needed plenty considering that her hospital room was on the 3rd floor. She frowned to herself realizing that the only clothes she had now were a pair of white hospital shorts and T-shirt. Her original clothes had been taken by one of the nurses earlier, who was unfazed by the fact that they had been covered in dirt and blood._ I could never work in a hospital, how do they deal with all the blood?_ She wondered.

That brought up another thought. About how she expected Mustang to make her work for the state in "equivalent exchange" for the room they would provide her. It didn't feel like equivalent exchange though, granted she was being forced to stay there because she was a minor. She felt she was more than capable of taking care of herself, she had pretty much taken over her household after her father's untimely demise.

She kept her left hand curled up underneath her chin as she laid there, listening to the tick noise coming from the clock on the wall. It felt like the seconds were mocking her, but it was also the only thing keeping her focused enough as to not fall asleep. Her eyelids drooped every once and awhile, she would flutter them and rub her face with her hand, in an attempt to fight off sleep. She continued to lay still for another several minutes thinking about how she had refused to take off her gloves earlier, and how surprised she was that the nurse actually let her keep them on. She smirked slightly at the irony, and how her world would really come crashing down, had she been forced to remove them.

Three subsequent hollow knocks coming from the door made her heart almost jump out of her chest, she hadn't even heard Edward approach her room. They caught her off guard, and all she could do is freeze in her spot on the bed. She forced herself to breathe slowly, being too still might cause alarm, even though Edward hadn't even opened the door yet. She heard him call her name, the sound of his voice subconsciously causing her to bring her hand to cover her mouth, as to not audibly wimper. She remembered his words from earlier, and this quiet act of betrayal was enough to break her in half. She felt terrible for misleading him, and wanted so bad to call back to him, letting him know she was still awake.

A soft golden light growing on her wall informed her that he had cracked the door open. He said her name again, a little louder this time. She squeezed the pillow she had propped over her right hand where her head rested. "You awake?" Edward whispered into the silent room. She felt him stand there for a moment, waiting before he let out a rough sigh. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He spoke so quiet she almost hadn't heard him. Tears rolled down her face in shame, her hand still cupping her mouth to keep from making any noise. When she heard him shut the door, she sucked in a deep breath. _Did he know I was still awake?_ She thought about how he sounded almost a little disappointed in her by the tone in his voice, like he knew she was ignoring her. She laid there, for several more minutes hating herself before finally stirring.

She slowly sat up in her bed and glanced around the room, gaze fixing on the door. She stared at it, regret filling her chest and she briefly considered not going through with her plan. She shook her head slightly when she remembered what living at East Command on Mustang's terms would be like.

She pulled the hospital blanket from her legs and placed her feet delicately on the floor. Her shaky arms pushed her off the bed carefully, until she was standing up right. She ignored the throbbing in her leg and tip toed to retrieve her boots sitting next to the door. She pressed one hand to the wall to balance herself as she carefully slipped on her shoes. Once they were on, she silently made her way to the dresser, retrieving her makeshift bed sheet/rope, then moved to the window.

She had already unlocked the window earlier, and she was glad she did so because the locks made a loud click when they were released. She slid it open, feeling the icy air burst inside to greet her. She wished she had a coat or something, it had really gotten cold since this afternoon. Trying her best to ignore it, she tied one end of the makeshift rope to her metal bed post, which was thankfully anchored to the floor. She proceeded to stick her head out the window, getting a feel for the environment around her before tossing the other end of the rope down the side of the building. Luckily, it was almost the perfect length, and only missed the ground by a couple feet. _I can do this_. She reassured herself, sucking in another deep breath before sitting on the window sill. She grasped the bed sheets tightly, trusting it to hold her weight, as she descended down the side of the building.

Once she got to the bottom of the rope, she looked around for any sign of life. The only people she had noticed were the guards at the front gate, and they had been busy in conversation with each other. Probably drinking to pass the time. It was quiet besides a few bugs chirping, and the semi-frequent rustling of trees from the wind. She prepared herself and let go of the rope, her feet softly thudding against the pavement as they connected.

An intense pain shot up her thigh as she hit the ground. She brought her hands up, cupping her mouth as to prevent herself from screaming. After she had recuperated herself, she traveled over to the stone wall, using the edges in the bricks, to climb over and hop down again, seething as another sting of pain shot through her nerves. She looked back to the building one last time. _No turning back now._ She thought painfully, remembering Ed's kind face, before turning towards the dark trees, and disappearing into the woods.

She made her way to through the city, dipping through alleyways behind buildings, being careful to keep out of sight from any military personnel. There was a lot of them out tonight, probably still looking for Scar, making it harder for her to remain looking unsuspicious. The further she traveled away from the Command Center though, the fewer their numbers. When she finally reached her neighborhood is when she stopped to catch her breath. Her leg was on fire from running so much, and she rubbed it tenderly before making her way to her house again.

When she eventually arrived, she stopped suddenly when she reached the door. She was reluctant to go inside. It was an older house, and it's familiar creaking haunted her. She sighed heavily before bending down to lift the doormat that kept her spare housekey, her leg muscles screaming at her as she moved. She held it tightly in her hand briefly, before shoving it quickly into the key hole and turning it to unlock the door. She pulled the door open carefully and peered inside. Her own house had felt so foreign to her now. She thought about just taking off without her things, before remembering the evidence of her past mistakes. She knew she couldn't leave without removing anything incriminating.

Vanessa made her way up the stairs to her bedroom, trying to ignore the sinking pit in her stomach. She was going to pack up as quick as possible and get out of there. _I'm sure it won't be long until someone realizes I'm gone._ She thought to herself. She grabbed her lamp off of her dresser and set it on the floor next to her bed before clicking it on. She needed to see, but also didn't want the light to be too visible from the window. She pulled an empty suitcase out of her closet, set it on her bed and opened it.

She kneeled down and reached under her bed, blindly feeling the dust under her fingers before finding the small lock box she kept hidden. She grabbed it and slid it forward until it was in front of her. She slid her thumb over the combination wheels, and put in the code. To her satisfaction it clicked, and she opened the box.

A couple of old books sat inside along with her notebook. The evidence. She grabbed them and stood up quickly, setting them in the suitcase as she did so. She realized she would also need money for a train ticket and food, as for where she would go exactly, she had no idea. She remembered she kept a box of emergency money in her mother's closet. Even though it was technically her mom's money, she always made sure to quietly replace what her mom would sometimes spend. When she rushed to her mother's room down the hall to grab it, she stopped dead in her tracks in the doorway. She froze, immediately forgetting why she came in the first place, when she saw her mother's nightgown draped across the bed.

Her mother could never for the life of her keep her own store organized, but her home was a different story. Everything was kept neat and tidy, as if she was expecting her husband to come home after a rough day at work, to see just how hard she worked every day just to keep his castle clean. She remembered after he died, hearing her mom cry herself to sleep every night, and it killed her. She never would let Vanessa see her cry, and she insisted that she didn't blame her. But she felt deep down, that a small part of her mom did blame her for what happened.

She stepped up to her bed slowly, mindlessly pulling her gloves off as she did so, not taking her eyes off the night gown. Her mother had made her bed that morning as usual and always had the night gown waiting for her at the end of the day. Vanessa dropped her gloves on the night stand, fully exposing the faded black ink that stained the back of her hands. They were covered in scars from her furiously clawing at the transmutation circle tattoos that she had applied herself, shortly before her fathers death.

She pulled the night gown delicately up to her face and smelled it. Her breathing hitched as she stood there, mourning her mother. She felt like a failure. None of this would had happened if it wasn't for her. She buried her face in it and cried hard for several minutes. "I'm sorry." She repeated to the cloth, over and over, until she couldn't cry anymore. Her eyes stung as she pulled it away from her face again. She calmed her breathing, realizing she had probably been standing there too long now, and needed to finish packing.

Suddenly, a loud creak in the floor filled the room, making Vanessa's heart stop. Her face paled and her eyes widened. She realized she wasn't alone. The person cleared their throat audibly, just in case she wasn't aware of them yet. A typical Mustang thing to do really. She closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself before opening them again, taking a deep breath, and turning around.

But it wasn't Mustang. She blinked a couple times just to be sure. He stood there with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe. _Glaring_ at her. He was angry. Angrier than he should have been really. All she did was escape East Command and went home. So why did he look so furious?

"Edward, I'm sorry." She begged. "I-" He interrupted her suddenly. "Do you think I'm stupid?" He growled at her, lowering his head, casting shadows over his eyes. "Like I didn't know you weren't sleeping?" He snapped his eyes back up to meet hers, staring into her soul making her heart sink. "Is this what you were planning? Running away?" His voice began to rise more as he spoke. She stood there at a loss for words, almost to scared to speak. She didn't want to make him angrier than he was already. He let out an annoyed "Tck", dropped his arms, and walked over to her mother's bed next to where she was standing.

He glanced at the picture sitting on the nightstand behind her. A family photo. Seeing this made his expression grow darker. Vanessa felt confused at his sudden rage. She could hear his gloves creak as he clenched his fists. He shifted his glare towards her again, seeing her confusion and finally decided to elaborate. "I found your alchemy books." He stated flatly. Her heart began to race when she realized that he had figured it out. _Shit, shit, shit! _She panicked._ But I never told him about my father! There's no way, unless-_

"The Colonel told me about your dad." He informed her, as if he could hear her thoughts. "His death wasn't an accident though, was it!?" He seethed angrily through his teeth at her. Her breath caught in her throat. "You know, after I found those books I still had my doubts, until I saw your hands that is. You're little secret?" He paused for a moment then pointed at her. "You left the evidence all over your room!" He shouted. Vanessa tried to change the subject, failing miserably. "You went through my stuff?!" She blurted. Ed stepped up to her until they were face to face. He ripped the dress out of her hands and threw it on the bed, proceeding to roughly grab her by the wrist.

"You've been hiding this from Mustang this whole time, letting him believe that his death was caused by a damn faulty light switch?!" He shouted at her. She pulled her hand away from his grasp quickly with the intention to run, but before she could, he clapped, then grabbed both of her arms and pinned her against the wall, stunning her. Blue light shot out as the wall extended and wrapped around her hands, the wood completely covering them, holding her in place.

"Please!" She begged him as he stepped back. She struggled to free her hands, but failed. "Ed please! Let me explain!" He looked away from her in frustration before holding eye contact with her again. "What? So you can tell me how you murdered your own father in cold blood?!" She felt a burning rage build within her at his words. "I didn't murder him!" She roared, her intensity shocking him. There was a silence between them before she spoke again. "I didn't... it was an accident!" Her voice became a pitiful squeak after the outburst. Her breath hitched as she began to sob. "I didn't mean to, I loved my dad, I would never..." Ed watched her as she dropped her head and cried. "I thought I could control it. I was stupid. I _am_ stupid." She glared up at him again. "Dammit I was trying to protect my family!" She growled.

Ed stood defensively as he watched her. They stared at each other for a moment before she continued. "Lightning alchemy. Have you ever met someone that can use it?" She rolled her eyes at her own words. "Of course not. It's too unpredictable. I thought I had it under control. But I was stupid to think that I had control of anything. I still don't, that was made very apparent today." She dropped her head again in defeat. "I thought someone was breaking into our house. But Dad was just coming home later than usual, and I got cocky." She raised her head up slowly, looking at him with tired eyes. "It was dark and I couldn't see. So I..." Her words trailed off, before she changed the subject.

"I haven't used any kind of alchemy since." She admitted. "My mother was the only person in the world who knew the truth. She said she realized it was an accident and that she didn't blame me for what happened, but I think she died secretly hating me for it. She hasn't treated me the same since that day." Edward stood quietly now with a pitied look on his face, suddenly feeling guilty for lashing out at her. He could feel the sincere regret in her voice. "She didn't hate you." He stated. "How do you know?" She snapped at him. He walked towards her, ignoring her attitude. "Because if she did hate you, she could of turned you in. But she helped you cover it up didn't she?" His voice was softer now, his words making her heart sink.

Another creak in the doorway caused both Ed and Vanessa to turn their heads in alarm. Vanessa's jaw dropped when she saw Mustang standing in the doorway. She blinked at him in disbelief. _He heard my whole confession... my life is over, I'm going to prison!_ She froze in fear as she heard Edward speak. "Colonel, how long have you been standing there?" He questioned. Mustang kept his arms crossed and his head low, surprisingly showing no emotion, until he spoke. "Long enough." She could hear the pure disappointment in his tone.

"So it's true then." He raised his head to lock eyes with her. "It was you this whole time?" He sounded as if he were pleading her to tell him it wasn't, that she hadn't been lying this whole time. "I'm sorry." She muttered pitifully. They were all silent for a moment before Mustang spoke up. "Very well then." Her and Ed glanced at each other, sharing fearful expressions before bringing their attention back to Mustang. "I will keep this to myself. But I need some time to process." He spoke as flat as he could muster before turning to leave.

"Bring her back to the Command Center after she has packed some things." He instructed Edward quietly. "Yeah. Sure." Ed agreed slowly, still shocked at the Colonel's strange demeanor. Mustang then turned, disappearing behind the doorframe. They both stood there, still, until they could no longer hear Mustang's footsteps echoing down the hallway.

**So I've decided that I will probably update about once a week or so as I have a full time job. Also, I should of probably mentioned before that this takes place in the Brotherhood universe, but might contain pieces of story from the original series. Please let me know if you are enjoying it so far or have any tips on my writing, this is my first fic after all so appreciate any constructive criticism!


	6. Chapter 6

Warning: if you are triggered when reading material that contains mild sexual assault, you might want to skip the portion marked with an asterisk. It's not explicit, but it may upset some readers that are uncomfortable with situations such as the one described later in this chapter. I will brief you at the beginning of the next chapter. The end of the situation will also be marked with an asterisk. (*)

Vanessa and Ed watched the doorway for a while until they were sure that Mustang was gone before they stirred again. Vanessa's wrists were starting to ache from being pinned to the wall. She seethed through her teeth quietly, finally breaking the silence.

"Here, let me get that! Sorry." Ed moved to Vanessa quickly and placed his hands on her wooden restraints. Blue sparks snapped around her head as she was released. She lowered her hands and rubbed them, keeping her head down. Ed watched her carefully as she moved to sit on her mother's bed. She plopped down, fixing her gaze to the photo on the dresser again, refusing to make eye contact with him.

"Look, I'm sorry that I yelled at you, I just saw your books and assumed the worst." Ed admitted remorsefully. She dropped her head and let out a heavy sigh. "Its fine. It's no less than I deserve." She chuckled to herself before continuing. "There's nothing anyone could do to make me feel worse than I've already made myself feel. But Mustang..." Her words trailed as she slowly moved her eyes to the door. "He doesn't deserve this." Her fingers traced the textured lines of the ink stained on the back of her hands. Ed noticed the bruise beginning to show on her wrist. He winced slightly remembering how he grabbed her with his metal hand.

He figured there was no point to apologize to her again, he knew she would just say she deserved it. Instead he moved to the bed and sat next to her. His hands dropped between his legs, and they both stared at the floor for a moment before she spoke again. "You know, my mom would kill me if she found out I had a boy in here." She laughed as Ed's face began to turn beet red, his eyes widening.

"W-why would you say something like that!?" He asked her frantically. She continued giggling for a moment before responding. "To lighten the mood, silly." She smiled at him. His gave her a dumbfounded look, still confused at her dark humor, as he watched her fall backwards onto the mattress.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She smiled to herself, she felt like she could breathe again now that her secret had been discovered after so long. Like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She could feel Ed still watching her lay there, and it was starting to bug her. She leaned up quickly and grabbed his arm, pulling him down next to her. "H-hey! What are you-" He stammered, falling back and propping himself up on his elbows.

She opened her eyes just to roll them at him. "Oh will you just shut up and relax?" She giggled at his nervousness. He stared at her for a moment before finally letting out a breath and reluctantly laying next to her. They both laid their hands across their stomachs and stared at the ceiling fan above them. They shared a silence for a while before Ed finally spoke, an annoyed tone to his voice.

"Shouldn't we get going soon..? I don't think the Coronel wants us to stick around too long." He waited for a response from her, but she was quiet. He moved his head over to look at her, just to discover she was sleeping.

Instantly his expression dropped. He groaned loudly and slid a hand down his face. He glanced over at her between his fingers to see if she had awoken from the noise, but she hadn't moved. He sighed, and laid next to her for awhile thinking about what to do next. Ed continued to stare at the ceiling fan, feeling his own eyes began to droop. He knew she was tired and didn't want to wake her up, but Mustang was expecting them back soon. Eventually after trying to make up his mind, he closed his eyes and fell asleep next to her.

Ed woke up suddenly, the subconscious thought of his responsibilities looming over his mind. He jumped up quickly when he realized he was alone in the bed, and the room was empty. He hopped up on his feet and sprinted out of her mother's room and down the hallway, back to Vanessa's room. He skidded to a stop in the doorway, grasping the frame to prevent from falling over. He let out an audible sigh of relief when he was greeted with the sight of her sitting on her floor.

She had clothes and books scattered around her, along with some small boxes. Her lamp was now back to its original spot on the nightstand, illuminating the entire room, with its soft, golden glow. She held some folded clothes in her hands, and was reaching over to set them in the suitcase when he appeared suddenly. She gave him a quizzical look for a moment before her mouth turned into a smirk.

"You thought I took off didn't cha'?" She dropped the clothes in the suitcase and crossed her arms. "You were asleep for quite a while; that's not very responsible Edward." She grinned at him. "I could have been almost to Xing by now!" She joked. Ed bowed his head and crossed his arms. "I bet you wouldn't even of made it halfway across the desert!" He laughed. He stepped over to where she was sitting, and put his hands on his hips. He looked down at her, stern now.

"We've wasted enough time already, Mustang's probably pissed by now, so we'd better get going." She huffed at him, her arms still crossed. "Well I'm not done packing." He seethed in annoyance at her. "Whaddya' mean you're not done?! We should have been long gone by now!" He shouted. Vanessa, unaffected by Ed's shouting, shrugged again. "Well, I'm not done. And you're the one to talk, you slept longer than I did." Ed rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily, defeated. "What time is it anyway?" Vanessa sat up and crawled over to her nightstand and pulled a drawer open. She reached in blindly and felt around until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out her alarm clock, it had been hastily thrown in her drawer to silence the alarm at some point. She flipped it over in her hand so it was facing her. "It's 1:13 in the morning." She informed him flatly. Ed gasped, making her glance up at him.

"What?! Are you serious, it's that late already?!" He shouted frantically. He dropped down and started grabbing her clothes and belongings in fistfulls, throwing them carelessly into her suitcase. "H-hey, cut it out!" She stammered. She clasped her hands around his wrists to stop him. "Just relax okay?" He locked eyes with her. "Go call Mustang and tell him you let me sleep or something! Tell him we are on our way- actually, ask him to send someone for us, I really don't want to have to walk all the way back, my leg is still killing me from earlier!" She let go of his hands as he stood up again. "_Fiiiine_." He whined. He really didn't want to call Mustang but it would probably be better than waiting until they got there to explain themselves.

Vanessa watched as Ed left the room, and listened, as he drug his feet reluctantly behind him until she heard him decend the stairs. She looked down at her suitcase; now a disheveled mess, and sighed to herself. She stuffed the loose pieces of clothing inside and closed it. _I guess this will have to do. If I stall any longer, Mustang might kill us both_.

She stood up and walked to her closet. She pulled her black leather jacket off of the hanger and put it on, before turning off the light and heading out the door.

As she approached the stairs, she could hear Ed's voice echoing from the kitchen. She stopped to listen, but as soon as she did, his conversation was over. She frowned slightly when she heard him hang up the receiver, and made her way down the stairs, carrying her suitcase with her. She gripped the railing and squeezed when she felt her leg beginning to throb. Ed soon met her in the middle of the stairwell when he saw her wincing in pain. She hadn't even noticed him approach her. "Here, let me get that." He said smoothly. She didn't respond to him, but nodded as he took it from her grasp. _What a gentleman_. She thought sarcastically. She frowned at herself immediately. _Why am I so mean? He's just being nice._ The devil and angel continued bickering in her head as she followed him down the stairs.

They were back in the kitchen before Ed spoke again. "Well, the Coronel was sleeping when I called him. He can't call a car for us right now because they are all still looking for Scar and there isn't any free cars available." Vanessa groaned at his words. "Better get going then..." She mumbled disappointingly. Ed led the way over to the door and opened it for her. She walked silently over to him, reaching her hand mindlessly over to the now-fixed light switch, and clicked it off before stepping out the door.

Ed walked behind Vanessa as they traveled back to East Command. He kept one hand in his pocket, the other holding her suitcase that he had swung casually over his shoulder. She could feel him watching her again, and she was starting get annoyed. She slowed down until she was walking next to him.

"Something bothering you?" He asked. "No." She simply replied, even though he knew different. He shrugged it off and glanced at her leg. "How's your leg doing?" He asked cautiously, knowing she would go on the defensive. "It's fine." She said flatly. "I can see that it's not, your limps getting worse. If you want to take a break then just say so." He argued. She huffed at his words. "I said I'm fine. Let keep going." She grumbled. Between her leg, the cold, and being tired, she was beginning to feel crabby. She just wanted to make it back, and go to sleep.

They walked for awhile longer before Ed suddenly jogged ahead of her. "Hey, check it out!" She stopped, confused and watched him run up to a building with an "open" sign posted out front. It looked kind of sketchy, but Ed didn't seem fazed by it. A bar of some kind, the only place around that was open at this time. She could smell the scent of greasy fried food and hamburgers, making her stomach growl. "You coming?" Ed caught her attention again when he called out to her. "Shouldn't we keep going? We are already super late." She stated. He shrugged at her. "So what? Since we're already late, might as well right? Besides, I already talked to Mustang so he knows we're coming." She stood defiantly with her arms crossed. "C'mon!" He laughed as he approached her and grabbed her hand, dragging her inside. She felt a smile creep across her face at his child-like demeanor.

It was pretty dark inside the bar, and smokey. Ed led her through the loud crowd, some turning their heads at the young teens in the bar at this time of night. There was plenty of laughter and hollering surrounding them, and Vanessa could feel her head began to throb. The intense scent of alcohol wasn't helping either. This is the last place she wanted to be, but she was hungry. Ed pulled her all the way up to the bar and signaled her to sit down. She grabbed a bar stool and sat down carefully, glancing around cautiously as she did so. Ed carelessly plopped down on the stool next to her and signaled the bartender. A large, masculine, uh, woman? (Vanessa couldn't figure out which) waltz over to them, raising an eyebrow.

"Isn't it past curfew? The hell you kids doin' in my bar?" She asked, cigarette held between her teeth. She had a rough voice, probably a result from years of smoking. Edward reached into his pocket, hand brushing Vanessa's thigh as he did so. She felt heat sweep across her face, but tried to ignore it. He pulled out his pocket watch and showed it to the bartender. She quickly snatched it out of his hand and carefully looked it over. She exchanged glances between him and the watch, before shrugging and tossing it back.

"So you want food? Cuz' I can't sell liquor to minors. Dog of the military or not." She leaned forward and rested her elbow on the counter. "Ya know, unless your coin tells me otherwise?" Ed just grinned at her and waved his hand. "We'll just take some menus, thanks." The bartender reached under the counter, pulled out some menus and handed one to each of them. She then grabbed some glasses, scooped up some ice, and set them on the counter before grabbing a pitcher and pouring water into them. When she was done, she wiped her hands dry with a towel, then hollered at some patrons at the end of the bar getting rough with each other, her booming voice making Vanessa jump in her seat. As she walked away, Vanessa let out a deep sigh. Ed placed his hand on her back, catching her attention.

"You alright? Never been in a bar before, huh?" He laughed. He must of failed to notice some of the bar thugs eyeing her up and down like she did, even after he placed his hand on her back. She hunched lower in her seat leaning towards him. "I really don't feel safe here Ed, can we just go? I'm really not that hungry." She spoke quickly and desperately, hoping he would hear it in her voice. But his own confidence made him oblivious to the shady scene around him, either that or he just didn't care. "Let's just get some food, then we'll leave alright?" He tried to sound comforting, but she could still hear his ego humming through his tone. She sighed again defeated, rested her chin on her palm, and stared at the menu in front of her.

Eventually the lady came back and took their order. She didn't realize how hungry she actually was until she had placed their plates in front of them. She remembered how she was suppose to go get dinner with her mom earlier that day. But instead, she was sitting at a questionable bar with some boy she had just met, in the middle of the night. They were about halfway through eating when Vanessa felt the need to use the bathroom. She hadn't gone since before she snuck out of the Command Center and couldn't hold it anymore. She felt embarrassed but leaned over the counter to get the bartender's attention.

"Excuse me, where's the bathroom?" She questioned the lady. She stood up straight and pointed to the end of the counter, smirking. "Around that corner. _Don't get lost.._" She replied slyly. Vanessa swallowed hard and looked to Ed, who was still stuffing his face. "I'll be right back Ed." She informed him, while standing up from her stool. She vaguely thought about asking him to come with her, but changed her mind quickly when she realized he would probably just tease her or think she was weird. "I'll be here!" He mumbled through a mouth full of food. She rolled her eyes at him playfully and turned towards where the bartender had pointed earlier.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand as she began to make her way through the crowd. One of the drunk men stumbled into her suddenly, and she pushed him away roughly, picking up her pace. As she continued to make her way through them, she heard the group with the drunk man laughing obnoxiously, some of his friends cat calling her. She cringed at their voices and finally arrived at the bathrooms. She rushed inside, locking the door behind her. She rested her back against the door, taking a moment to breathe, when a loud bang erupted behind her, making her squeal. She heard them laughing behind the door after they banged on it and froze in place, until she heard their voices fade.

After she was sure they were gone, she finally used the bathroom. It was kind of grungy, and she had laid toilet paper across the toilet seat just to be safe when she used it. When she went to turn the faucet on, it sputtered before spewing out yellow-tinted water. Vanessa figured it would be more sanitary to just wipe her hands on her black shorts she had changed into after she woke up earlier. She thought about wearing pants but would rather not of had the material rubbing against her bandaging. She sighed to herself before opening the door and headed out of the bathroom.

As she left the bathroom, she was hoping to be greeted by Ed, waiting outside the door so they could leave; she had been gone for awhile. But instead she was instantly surrounded by a group of guys that were hanging out by the back door next to the bathrooms. She instantly felt her stomach sink as they set eyes on her. She swallowed hard again and tried to push her way through them, but failed as they shoved her back.

"Hey, let me through!" She demanded, trying to sound as intimidating as she could, but they ignored her. "Sorry little lady, we didn't see you there. Aren't you a little young to be in a place like this at this time of night?" The leader of them stepped up and grinned at her, his yellowed teeth and bad breath putting her off. "Look, I'm here with a state alchemist, so back off." She growled. She began to panic when they moved in closer. "You mean that little shrimp at the bar?" They sneered in Ed's direction, but she couldn't see him over the crowd, which meant he couldn't see her either.

_(*)They must of been watching us for a while, how else would they have known that I was with him?_ She thought about yelling for him, but there was no way he could have heard her cries. She darted her eyes around, trying to find a way to escape, but before she could seek a way out, one of the men grabbed her arms from behind. She went to scream but she clasped a hand over her mouth. He leaned into her ear and she felt his ragged breath on her neck. "Shhh.. You could do much better than that little shrimp anyway." She struggled against him as he pushed her towards the back door next to them. The leader walked over and opened it courteously for them, which made her stomach knot up even more.

She kicked her feet up, trying to hit the thugs that were surrounding her, as she was now carried into the alleyway. They backed up, laughing at her desperate attempts to fight back. "If you wanted a real man, all you had to do was say so." The leader sneered at her as she was pushed up against a wall by the thug who held her. They held her arms up on each side as the leader approached her until he was face to face with her. "That little boy couldn't please you like I can." She felt her eyes widen in fury at his words.

Before she could even think about it, she spit in his face. "Get the hell away from me you sick freak!" She snapped. As soon as the words left her mouth, he slapped her hard across her face, causing her head to fall to the side. Her bangs draped over her eyes, thankfully blocking her view from them, but not for long.

The leader grabbed her chin and pulled her head up right to face him. He had wiped off her spit and by now, he was angry. "You're feisty, I like it!" He chimed, his glare turning into a sickening grin. He suddenly pressed his lips to hers, still holding her head in place. Her eyes shot wide, and she flailed her body against him, but there was no pushing him off with his friends holding her down. She tried to scream but it was muffled from his mouth pressed on hers. She could hear him moaning in excitement as he brought his hands up to her shirt. He grabbed it, and ripped it down the center roughly, exposing her chest. The man pushed his hands under her bra, and she felt the others grabbing her legs and moving their hands up to her shorts, attempting to undo them.

She refused to quit struggling, even though she failed to fight them off. Using her alchemy suddenly crossed her mind. _I could fry these bastards right now!_ She moved her eyes up to her hand. She pressed her thumb and middle finger together to snap, just how she saw Mustang do, just how she did when she had done it before, but for some reason, she couldn't do it. Flashes of her father flooded her mind and she couldn't push them away, and all she had to do was snap her finger. _I can't do it... Why? Why am I so scared? I don't care about their lives, so why can't I do it?!_ She felt tears swell up behind her eyes, but refused to let them fall. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. The feeling of their grimy hands on her body made her skin crawl, making her flail around more. At this point, she'd just wished she died under that building with her mother.(*)

"Hey!" She heard a familiar voice boom throughout the alleyway. The sound of his voice made a tear finally fall from her face in relief. They all shot their attention over to Ed, who was now sprinting up to them. He dropped the suitcase next to his feet and brought his hands down to the ground. Blue sparks lit up the dark alleyway around them, a couple of the thugs watching in awe. Their amazement was cut short when giant stone pillars flew at them from Ed's place on the ground, violently colliding with their faces. The leader jumped back just in time, as it flew between him and Vanessa. She felt the wind whip past her face as she stood there in shock. When the stone pillar dropped onto the ground and crumbled, is when Vanessa finally dared to move again.

She sucked in a deep breath as her eyes darted to the leader, who now stood tall with his knife brandished. "Why don't you stop with the fancy alchemy and take me on like a man?" He barked. With the other thugs now out of the equation, he was now challenging Ed. Ed pulled himself up from the ground and locked eyes with the assailant, a smirk plastered on his face. "That'll be even easier than using alchemy!" He boasted. Suddenly, they charged at each other. As they closed the distance, the leader of the gang swiped at Ed's face. Ed proceeded to lean to the side swiftly, turning his torso and placing his hands on the ground. He flipped himself over, dodging his attack by doing a round-off, landing behind him. Before the leader could turn around to face him, Ed used the momentum from landing, to kick him full force in the stomach with his metal leg.

The leader stumbled back, gasping for air. He was closer to Vanessa now, who was still frozen in place. He held his stomach and glared at Ed, who returned to his fighting stance, waiting for his next move. After the leader had gained control of his breathing, his eyes darted from Ed to Vanessa, and with one quick motion, he sprinted in her direction. She reacted, bringing her arms up to catch his wrists, before the man could bring his blade down to her. She was quickly losing the battle of holding his wrists in place, as he was much stronger than her. Before it reached her chest, Ed appeared, grabbing his arm and twisting it back violently, causing the man to scream in agony. She got a glimpse at Ed's face briefly, his expression furious. Ed pulled him away from Vanessa and flung him in the opposite direction.

As the leader collided with the brick wall behind him, he collapsed his head, the wind being knocked out of him again. Ed followed him and grabbed his hair, and yanked it down, slamming his face against his knee. He continued to knee him in the face a few more times, before Vanessa couldn't handle it anymore. She wanted to see this guy rot in hell, but didn't want to watch Ed send him there.

"Ed, that's enough!" Her voice caught his attention. Still angry he seethed, grasping on to the man's hair for a moment before releasing his grip and dropping him to the ground. Surprisingly, he man was still conscious, all though he seemed to be missing some teeth now. He scrambled away, by now his men were starting to stir. They all retreated, but not before the man shot Ed a vengeful glare before limping away, disappearing into the shadows of the alley.

Vanessa slid down the wall were she stood, letting her legs collapse from underneath her. She tried to control her breathing, still blinking in disbelief at what had just happened. Ed rushed over to her side and kneeled down next to her. He reached his hands out to her, quickly retracting them when she flinched at his movement. He was worried, and not sure how to comfort her in a situation like this. He reached for her again, this time slower, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. He pulled her back up with him until they were standing.

Her body was trembling, and she didn't want to be touched by anybody. She backed up from him quickly, before locking eyes with his. Ed's hurt expression made her heart break. He was the only one around that she could trust, but for some reason she was terrified of him. Maybe it being that she had just been groped by strange men, or that he was about to smash someone's skull against his leg, she wasn't sure. But as she stared into his eyes, she felt like she could see his soul. He was sweet, and nurturing. She could see that he wanted to protect her. The walls around her started to feel like they were closing in, and she desperately wanted to escape.

Suddenly, she threw herself into his arms, wrapping her hands around his neck. She buried her face in his coat, just like she did the day before. He pulled her in tightly, feeling her heartbeat thud against his chest. "I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear. "I should have listened to you earlier, I'm sorry I was so careless." He cursed himself. "It won't happen again. I promise." He told her sincerely. She stayed in his arms for awhile, until she felt herself finally relax.

He held her until she finally pulled back. She felt the cold breeze against her chest as she pulled away. She immediately pulled her jacket closed and crossed her arms covering herself. Her tank top was a tattered mess, and she felt ashamed that Edward had to see her like that. She blushed and turned her head away from him. "I can fix it." He paused, cautiously raising his hands to her chest. His cheeks were slightly red as well, but he knew he couldn't leave her like that. She winced slightly at his gesture. "If you'd let me. I understand if-" She cut him off. "It's fine. Do it." She glanced at him and swallowed, looking away again, before slowly opening her jacket for him.

He blinked a couple times trying to concentrate, but it was difficult given she was so exposed. She was... gifted. He didn't fail to notice. He shut his eyes and slightly shook his head, attempting to focus again. He gently clapped his hands and gradually extended his arms until he felt her breasts against his palms. A pause, before the blue light flickered and the threads began to link back together again. He peeked open his eyes to ensure he was repairing it correctly. Ed's face was completely flushed by now. After the transmutation was complete, Ed pulled his hands back.

She let out a breath she had been holding, and relaxed. The heat started to fade from their faces, as the bitter cold settled in. Ed wasn't as bothered by it as she was, her jacket was pretty small, and not very practical for the weather. He was about to pull his coat off and hand it to her before their attention was drawn to the car that had just pulled up at the entrance of the alleyway. Ed instinctively stepped in front of Vanessa, had the thug come back with reinforcements. Instead, a silhouette of a very large man with a rather dapper looking moustache stepped out of the passenger's seat, standing proud.

"Edward Elric? Is that you?" A loud but deep voice resonated from the large shadow. Ed seemed to recognize it, because he dropped his guard. "Oh Major Armstrong, it's just you." He sighed, relieved. Armstrong stepped up to them until his face was fully revealed. Vanessa peeked at him from behind Ed's shoulder. He seemed familiar, she tried to remember his face, but he didn't have the moustache when she had last seen him. She remembered the blonde hair though, even though it was more of a lone strand on top of an otherwise bald head. She definitely knew the signature blue military uniform though.

"What happened here? We heard the commotion from a couple blocks away and thought Scar might be here." Ed crossed his arms and bowed his head, almost disappointed. "No such luck I'm afraid. I-" Ed glanced towards Vanessa as she shot him a look. He read her expression quickly before continuing, playing it off. "I was just showing off my alchemy! That's all." He gave a nervous laugh. Vanessa swallowed hard, relieved. She would of rather of kept this incident between them.

"Showing off our skills to the young lady are we? Well, if it's a impressive display of skill you wish to see..." The Major gripped the center of his uniform with both hands, and pulled back, shredding the formal attire as if it was tissue paper. "Allow me to show you the prowess the Armstrong family has displayed for generations!" Ed and Vanessa shared an exasperated glance as the Major flexed his muscles and posed heroically. She could of sworn he was sparkling in the moonlight.

"Major, is there any way that we could get a ride back to the Command Center? She's got an injured leg and-" The Major cut him off suddenly. "Say no more Edward Elric!" He bellowed. "We would be honored to take you and this lovely lady back with us!" Suddenly, he stomped up to Edward and pushed him roughly to the side.

As Ed stumbled trying to regain his balance, Armstrong scooped Vanessa up like a baby making her blush furiously. She frantically insisted that he put her down, but her cries fell on deaf ears. "Edward Elric I'm ashamed in you, making an injured girl walk all the way back to the Command Center! This is unacceptable!" Edward grumbled something inaudible and followed him as he carried Vanessa to the car. Edward opened the door for Armstrong as he gently set her down in the back seat. He then carefully closed the car door and turned to Ed.

He bent down to Ed's level and whispered in his ear. "This wouldn't happen to be the famous Winry I've heard so much about, is it Edward?" Ed lifted his gloved hands and waved in denial. "Oh, no. That's Vanessa, I just met her yesterday." Major Armstrong stood tall and scratched his chin. "She wouldn't happen to be the one who lost her mother would she? Coronel Roth's daughter?" Ed nodded at him in solemn agreement. "Yeah, that's her."

Major Armstrong spent some time dramatically crying over Vanessa's story before they all finally piled in the car. On their way back, the Major questioned Ed about any intel on Scar, even though he had just as much information as the rest of them. Vanessa learned that Scar was targeting state alchemists for unknown reasons, and that "Scar" was a codename given to him by the military due to the X shaped scar on his forehead.

"So have you made any progress on your search for the Philosopher's Stone?" Ed slouched in his seat next to Vanessa, slightly annoyed at the Major's question. He kept his chin rested on his fist, his gaze fixed outside the window. She glanced to Ed, then back to the Major, looking for some kind of explanation on the subject. Ed sighed heavily before speaking. "No Major, I haven't." He said plainly. Armstrong was a little over the top, but still pretty observant. He took the sign and dropped the subject.

The rest of the car ride was quiet. Once they finally arrived back at East Command, Armstrong informed Edward that he was going to patrol the city some more. They thanked him for the ride and got out of the car. Vanessa and Ed were greeted by Alphonse waiting for them by the front doors to the building. "Brother you found her! That's great news, I was worried something bad happened." He stood from the spot he sat on the stairs and approached them. _He's still wearing that armour? At this time of night?_ Vanessa wondered.

She decided it was best not to ask him about it, and followed the boys inside. They made their way through the lobby and to the elevators. Once they got on, they rode in silence. Vanessa couldn't wait to get back to her room now, she was exhausted. She was sure Alphonse had tons of questions he was waiting to ask Ed in her absence as well. She hoped that Ed would keep the bar incident a secret at least, especially from Mustang.

A part of her was greatful Mustang had retired for the night; she didn't want to deal with him until she had gotten some rest as well. But a part of her was also worried that he would dwell on the truth he had learned, and change his mind about keeping it a secret. She cringed thinking about the consequences had he decided to prosecute her.

Once they had made it back to her hospital room, Ed turned to Al. "I gotta talk to Vanessa, would mind waiting outside for a minute Al?" He asked. "Sure no problem, I'll wait outside." Al happily agreed, as if he predicted Ed would say that. Ed followed Vanessa inside and closed the door behind him. She made her way over to her bed and plopped down. Ed stayed quiet for a moment, watching her rub her sore leg before speaking.

"I'm not gonna mention the incident at the bar to Mustang." He stated. She silently nodded in agreement, as she kicked her shoes off. The thought of what happened at the bar made her want to take a shower. She looked up and met eyes with him. He smirked at her. "You're not gonna try and run off again are you?" He teased. She rolled her eyes and returned his smirk. "I think I've had enough excitement for one night." She admitted. "Good to hear." He replied. It was silent for a moment before Vanessa opened her mouth to speak. Ed waited, watching her trying to find the right words.

"What's a Philosopher's Stone?" She finally asked. Ed gave her a sad smile. He expected her to ask after Armstrong brought it up in the car, but hadn't prepared an explanation for her. At least, an explanation on why he needed it. That would take some time. "It's a stone that is rumored to bypass the laws of equivalent exchange, enhancing alchemical effects." He explained. She furrowed her brow at him in confusion. "Rumored?" She questioned. "So you don't even know if it exists?" Ed felt stupid for telling her he was chasing a rumor, but it was the only lead he had. Their only chance. "Yeah, basically." He admitted, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"What do you need something like that for?" Ed bowed his head and closed his eyes. "If I explained it to you now, I'd be here all night!" He laughed. She twisted her mouth and pouted. "The short version then?" She pleaded. He rolled his eyes playfully at her before turning towards the door. Before he could grab the door knob, he heard her speak quietly.

"Ed... are you mad at me?" His eyebrows raised and he turned back towards her. "Why would I be mad?" He asked, matching her low volume. She twisted her fingers together and looked off to the side. "You know... for running. Are you mad?" She looked up at him for an answer. He stared at her in surprise, before smiling at her. "No. I'm not mad." His smile dropped in sudden guilt.

"You should be mad at me. I should have listened to you earlier when you wanted to leave. I'm sorry." She gave him a sympathetic look. "It's okay. I guess we both make some stupid decisions, huh?" He chuckled softly at her words. "I guess we'll both have to work on that then." He replied. They smiled at each other for a moment before Ed spoke again. "I'll see you around Vanessa. Good night." He turned back towards the door. She smiled as she watched him leave. "Goodnight Ed. See you later."

*Finished this chapter a couple days later than anticipated, sorry for the wait. Wanted to post it this weekend but it was a friend's birthday so it got delayed. The chapters are getting longer too. This story is pretty slow burning, 20k words and it's technically not even been a whole day! I have part of the story planned out as well, so hopefully no more delays. Anyway thanks for reading! Tell me what you think of the story so far!


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